Features

The Friends of the Lower Suwannee and Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuges will hold a Group Paddle and Picnic in the Town of Suwannee. Join us for an easy (beginners welcome), short (3.8 miles, 2 hours), fresh water paddle on Lock Creek, through riverine swamp along the Suwannee River.

Suwannee Valley Players will hold auditions for its fall production of “Cry of the Banshee” on July 14 at 10 a.m. and July 17 at 7 p.m. All auditions are held at the Chief Theater. This will be a cold read for the directors.

“Earnhardt” may have been a bigger name at the Bronson Speedway on June 30 but Tabaco Free Florida made a name for itself as well.
Aided by members of Levy County’s Students Working Against Tabacco (SWAT) club, representatives from Tabacco Free Florida helped spread the word for tabacco prevention and ways to quit using. They were further helped by Jeffery Earnhardt, grandson of Hall of Fame NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, who was racing at the speedway as part of a state-wide tour with his partner, Tabacco Free Florida.

Ed Philman of Trenton, right, takes the oath of office as the new Rotary Club District 6940 governor, from outgoing District Governor Jeannie Quave of Panama City. Philman is believed to be the first governor elected in a district that stretches from Pensacola to Williston who is not from the Florida Panhandle. He was installed during a luncheon Tuesday at the Gilchrist County Woman's Club.

Putting on a rocking show that lasted two-and-a-half hours, Cross City based Steel Bridge again asserted themselves as one of the area’s most exciting bands.
In a two-act show promoted by Chiefland-based RAM-MAN productions, Steel Bridge followed up HIgh Springs’ Crosstyz at Double Down Live in Gainesville on June 23.
“We wanted to get different fans to come together and help each other out,” said Mike Michaelis, of RAM-MAN. “It’s all about the cross-pollination of groups.”

Nineteen politicians turned out for the second quadrennial (something that happens every four years) softball game against the Levy ARC on Saturday that helped raise over $400 for the non-profit that serves developmentally disabled adults.
Like the first game in 2008, the politicians, who formed into two teams, played against the 10-member team made up of LARC clients and staff.
Each team of candidates seeking office on the August and November ballots played for two innings before conceding they were defeated both times by the LARC stars.

By MYRTICE SCABORZI
Publicity
The Log Cabin Quilters met Thursday, June 21, at the Levy County Quilt Museum. Everyone was busy working on various projects – they were quilting on the Watermelon quilt, opening up some of the items that were boxed earlier, washing and drying the items and then putting them out for display. We did have time for visiting and thinking of the ones who were out with sickness or vacation.

The Friends of the Withlacoochee Gulf Preserve Inc. donated $5,000 to the Town of Yankeetown to help with the reconstruction of the Ellie Schiller Education Center’s elevator at the Withlacoochee Gulf Preserve. The Center has been under renovation for several years as funds become available through the Town’s budget and community donations. The final element for a certificate of occupancy is bringing the elevator in compliance with State codes. The estimated cost is $17,000.

William Ferguson Caldwell died 19 years ago. He was a U.S. Army WWII veteran who fought at Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge. He was a father, and the husband of Dorothy Caldwell.
More than a decade before his death, according to his wife, he did a stint at Malcolm Randall VA Medical Center, in Gainesville.
“He was there for a while,” Caldwell said. “I said (to him), ‘When you get out of here, we’re gonna’ volunteer.”
That was 29 years ago, and Caldwell, 91, of Cross City, hasn’t stopped volunteering yet.

The Suwannee Valley Players announced Monday the nominees of the 2012 Golden Gravel Awards. The Gravels, named after founding member Nancy Gravel, are a fun way for the Players to celebrate the completion of another successful season. This success is a direct result of the support received from the community; and the community is invited and encouraged to join in this celebration on July 28 at 7 p.m. at the Usher Community Center for an evening of dinner and entertainment.

If you are looking to celebrate this July 4th, there are several celebrations in Levy County that offer a fun-filled holiday.
The party begins on Tuesday when Williston holds its Independence Day Celebration with a parade, festival and fireworks. On Wednesday morning the folks in Cedar Key will salute residents serving in the military with a red-white-and-blue celebration of flags and bunting, a reading of the honor roll of service members, a parade through the historic downtown and, later in the evening, with an impromptu fireworks show.

Two residents have formed a music promotion company to help raise the profile of local bands and their first gig is Saturday at Double Down in Gainesville with Steel Bridge of Cross City and and Crosstyz of Bell.
Michael Michalis, an agent with Don Martin Insurance in Fanning Springs, and Rod Whited, an agent with Nothwestern Mutual insurance, have formed RAM MAN Productions.

Led by Lieutenant Todd Dunn, three U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps divisions spent an action packed weekend on base at Naval Station Mayport. Cadets from Dunn’s Manatee Division, who drill in Yankeetown, invited the Tampa Bay Division, which drills at Mac Dill Air Force Base, and the Gulf Eagle Division, which drills in Ft. Meyers, to experience what life in the Navy might be like.

The Kidzone Children’s Ministry at Lighthouse Word Church kicked off its Celebration Summer program. The events include music, drama, dance on Sunday, June 10.
There were two bounce houses, train rides, face painting, popcorn, cotton candy and snow cones.
Each Sunday at 10:30 am throughout the summer will be packed with fun and rewards for those who bring their friends. All children from kindergarten through 5th grade are invited, and classes for toddlers and babies are also provided.
Call 493-1554 for more information.

Lighthouse Word Church is hosting a Patriotic Service on Sunday, July 1, at 10:30 am, in honor of our independence as a nation.
Special guests include keynote speaker Chiefland Police Chief Robert Douglas, State Attorney Bill Cervone, 8th Judicial Circuit Judge David Glant, Levy County Judge James T. “Tim” Browning and many other city and county officials.
Patriotic music and voter registration will also be featured at the service.
The public is invited to join in the celebration.